The Crazy Carnival Chapter
by SonicLover
Summary: (The Perils of Penelope Pitstop) Penelope decides to go to the Happy-Go-Lucky amusement park to relieve some stress. She may go in... but will she come out?
1. I Scream for You

The Crazy Carnival Chapter

Author's note: I haven't been doing a lot of recently. Here's your next story.  
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Chapter 1: I Scream for You  
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It was another day at the Happy-Go-Lucky Amusement Park. Penelope Pitstop needed something to relax her nerves, so she went to the amusement park with the Anthill Mob.

Of course, Penelope can hardly go anywhere without the Hooded Claw and his henchmen, the Bully Brothers, following her and trying to eliminate her.

Penelope first stop, like almost anyone's first stop in an amusement park, was the ice cream stand. Mmmmmm, ice cream.

For herself, Penelope ordered a strawberry ice cream cone topped with fudge, and for each of the seven members of the Anthill Mob- Clyde, Pockets, Yakyak, Salty, Snoozy, Zippy, and... who was the last one? I've forgotten- she ordered vanilla.

"Oh (sniff, sob), you're so kind, Penelope," Salty told her. Everyone was happy with Penelope's order.

When I say "everyone", I include the ice cream man, who was actually the Hooded Claw in disguise. Unknown to Penelope or the Anthill Mob, the fudge on her strawberry ice cream was contaminated with deadly poison.

Simple, but effective. All Penelope had to do was taste the fudge, and within minutes, Penelope would be out, and her fortune would go to her guardian, Sylvester Sneakly, a.k.a. the Hooded Claw.  
(Wow. That last sentence had a lot of commas in it.)

Will strawberry-with-fudge ice cream be Penelope's last meal? Will her life be saved at the last minute (as usual)? Will the next chapter be longer than half a page?  
You won't find out until Chapter 2 shows up... but in the meantime, you can be a darling and review this story. 


	2. A Wheel Good Time

The Crazy Carnival Chapter

Author's note: Another chapter already? Yeah, I was anxious to keep this story going.  
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Chapter 2: A Wheel Good Time  
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Before Penelope could get a lick, a guy about Penelope's age bumped into her. She spilled her ice cream on the ground.

"S-Sorry about your ice cream, ma'am," the guy said. "My name's Ronald. Ronald Redlight."  
"Delighted," Penelope responded. "I'm Penelope Pitstop. The ice cream's no trouble. I can always get another one later."  
"THE Penelope Pitstop? Wow! Want to go on a few rides with me?"  
"Sure. Let's start with the Ferris wheel, okay?"

And with that, Penelope and Ronald walked off in one direction while the Anthill Mob left in the other direction.  
"We'll meet you at the fountain in the center of the park a little later," Clyde called to Penelope.

The Hooded Claw was not happy. "Blast!"

A few minutes later, Penelope and Ronald arrived at the Ferris wheel. Penelope purchased tickets for both of them, and they got on; Penelope on the left, Ronald on the right.  
The safety bar that keeps passengers in Ferris wheel seats locked down. Up... up... up... the Ferris wheel rotated until Penelope and Ronald were as high as they could go. Then... the wheel stopped abruptly.

"Wow!" Ronald said. "What a view! I can see the whole amusement park from here!"  
"Take a good look around, you two," an all-too-familiar voice told them, "because it'll be the last thing you'll ever see!"

Penelope gasped. "The Hooded Claw!"  
"Uh, Penelope," Ronald asked, "does this happen often?"  
"More often than I'd like," Penelope responded. Then she and Ronald turned and looked at the Hooded Claw, who was seated comfortably in the Ferris wheel control booth. "What's your half-brained scheme this time, Claw?"

"Now, now, don't rush me, and I'll tell you. If you look to your left, you'll see the lookout tower. Your seat is level with that balcony."  
"The Bully Brothers are aiming a laser beam at you right this minute. When they fire, the beam will cut through the two of you like butter!"

You can imagine how Ronald felt about all this. "What do you have against us, Hooded Numbskull?"  
"Against you, nothing. Just Penelope. Since you're with her, though, I might as well take you along for the ride, ha ha!"

Ronald and Penelope started to call for help, but the Anthill Mob were busy playing with the bumper cars, and didn't hear them.  
Ronald, however, couldn't resist asking the Claw just one more question. "By the way, how do you intend to aim a laser beam with such accuracy from such a distance?"  
"I took measurements last night," the Claw replied. "You think I don't plan out every one of my schemes?"

Penelope and Ronald were both silent.

What will happen to Penelope and Ronald? Will there be a future of love for this couple? Will there be a future at all for this couple?

Stay tuned, and Chapter 3 will come! 


	3. Photo Grief

The Crazy Carnival Chapter Yeah, it's about time, isn't it? Here you go.  
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Chapter 3: Photo Grief -  
"Aim the laser at Penelope's left ear," the Hooded Claw told the Bully Brothers. "That way, it'll kill both of them. I can't have any witnesses."

An idea quickly snapped into Penelope's head. She fumbled around in her purse for her makeup mirror, and found it.

"Countdown to firing the laser," the Claw declared. "Five... four... three... two... one..."  
At the last second, Penelope held the makeup mirror in front of her ear. It deflected the laser back, frying the laser cannon.

"Blast!" grumbled the Claw. "Why does this always happen?"

Meanwhile, Ronald had just gotten the safety bar unlatched. He lifted it, and Penelope joined him for a dive into the nearby fountain.

A few minutes later, Ronald and Penelope were walking along the boardwalk. Neither had spoken since the Ferris wheel incident, so Ronald felt he had better say something.  
"You're very lucky to be the one I'm in love with," Ronald said, "and I'm not just saying that."

"How come?" Penelope replied.

"Like you are, I'm heir to a fortune. According to my father's will, should anything happen to me before my father kicks the bucket, the money will go to the last woman I loved, unless there is evidence that she did the killing."  
"You must be awfully trusting to fall in love with me, Redlight."  
"I am, I am. Sometimes I worry that someday a woman will catch my interest, then kill me and get the money. I know you, though, and you'd never do that."

The Hooded Claw was listening to all this. He quickly put two and two together. If he got rid of both Penelope and Ronald, he'd get two fortunes!

"Look!" Penelope said, pointing. "A souvenir photo studio! Come on, let's get our pictures taken!" The couple went in.  
After paying the camera man, Ronald and Penelope stood in front of the camera. The camera man gave the two instructions about how to pose. "A little to the left... make sure your cheeks are touching... now hold hands... no, higher... turn a little... yes! Perfect! Now hold still."

Neither Penelope nor Ronald knew, or even suspected, that the camera man was actually the Claw in disguise. The camera had a fully loaded double-barreled gun hidden in it.  
When the Claw "photographed" the two, the gun would shoot and kill them both. He hardly even needed to aim; his posing directions put them right in the gun's sights.  
The Hooded Claw began to count down. "Okay, I'm taking the shot in 6... 5... 4..."

Will Ronald and Penelope survive this plot? Will this be their photo finish? What's the Anthill Mob doing?

"Come on, let's get some cotton candy!"  
"The booth isn't open yet, dum-dum!"  
"Who cares? I still want cotton candy, and I'm not going on another ride until I get some!"

Oh. 


End file.
